Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu visited Mossad headquarters Wednesday evening, where he met with agency director David Barnea and senior commanders to commend their efforts in Operation Rising Lion and in years of intelligence work against Iran. Netanyahu credited Mossad’s “pagers and walkie-talkie operation” against Hezbollah last September as a turning point that paved the way for subsequent events, including the elimination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, the collapse of Syrian President Bashar Assad’s regime, and a joint mission to neutralize an immediate existential threat from Iran. “Your contribution was immense,” Netanyahu told Mossad officials.

According to a report published Thursday evening by Reuters, citing an Israeli official, Israel is preparing for a potential agreement that would bring about a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. The official indicated that Israel expects Hamas to provide a formal reply by Friday.
Should Hamas respond favorably, Israeli officials are expected to participate in indirect negotiations aimed at finalizing the deal.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to convene a meeting of the security cabinet tonight at his Jerusalem office to discuss the proposed hostage arrangement and the broader developments in Gaza.

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans propelled President Donald Trump’s $4.5 trillion tax breaks and spending cuts bil

Mark Penn, a former Clinton White House advisor and pollster, sounded the alarm Wednesday over Zohran Mamdani’s stunning victory in New York City’s Democratic mayoral primary, calling it a “9-1-1 moment” for the Democratic Party. Appearing on Fox News’s America’s Newsroom with Dana Perino, Penn harshly criticized Mamdani as an “anti-Semitic socialist” and warned that the party was in danger of being hijacked by far-left ideology. “Mamdani’s base of support is college-educated young people making $100,000,” Penn said. “The struggling working class voted for Cuomo.

SEE IT: House Republicans erupt in cheers after Trump’s signature ‘big beautiful bill’ passes, chanting “USA!” on the floor.

IDF Spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, also known as Effie Defrin, provided an operational update on Thursday, detailing the current phase of Israel’s military campaign targeting the Hamas terrorist organization in Gaza.
“Hamas’s governing hold is cracking, its stability is shaken day by day,” Defrin stated during the briefing.
He emphasized that Israeli ground forces are conducting broad operations across multiple areas, with five separate divisions currently operating inside the Gaza Strip. “IDF soldiers are intensely maneuvering in an extensive area. Five divisions are maneuvering in Gaza. We will present plans for the future to the political echelon so we can achieve the war’s objectives: the return of the hostages and the collapse of Hamas rule.”

Firefighters were struggling Thursday to bring a major wildfire on Greece’s southern island of Crete under control, hampered by gale force winds whipping up the flames. Thousands of people were evacuated from hotels and homes overnight after the fire started Wednesday afternoon in the Ierapetra area on the island’s southern coast, officials said. The head of the hoteliers’ association of Ierapetra and southeastern Crete, Giorgos Tzarakis, told local media about 5,000 tourists had been evacuated from the area, and that several homes and businesses had been damaged. By Thursday morning, 230 firefighters backed by 10 water-dropping helicopters were battling the flames advancing through forest and farmland.